Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), have arrested two church officials linked to the trafficking of lethal opioid, fentanyl in Delta State.
In a statement on Sunday, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, said the suspects were officials at Christ Mercyland Deliverance Ministries in Delta state.
Babafemi said the suspects, identified as Adewale Ayeni, 39, and Ebipakebina Appeal, 41, were arrested alongside four other persons.
He said the operatives intercepted two consignments of the illicit drugs in Warri, adding that two other women were arrested in connection with the crime.
Ayeni, one of the two officials, works as the manager of the prayer call centre of the church, while Ebipakebina is in charge of the movement of international guests from the airport to the worship centre.
“No fewer than 4,560 kilograms of skunk have been seized in interdiction operations in Lagos, Adamawa and Osun by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, who also raided a skucchies factory in Ogun and arrested four members of a drug syndicate including two church officials; female staff of a courier company and another lady, involved in trafficking lethal opioid, fentanyl in Delta,” the statement reads.
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“The bust of the fentanyl cartel operating from Warri, Delta state is coming barely a month after two members of another syndicate: Odoh Collins Oguejiofor and Oliver Chigozie Uzoma were arrested at Ogbogwu market, Onitsha head bridge, Onitsha south LGA, Anambra State following months of intelligence-led investigation of the syndicates behind the dangerous drug, which is 100 times more potent than heroin and currently responsible for over 70 percent overdose deaths as well as a major contributor to fatal and nonfatal overdoses in the United States.
“Two female accomplices also arrested in Warri in the course of investigating the intercepted shipments include Naomi David, 28, who is a staff of United Parcel Services (UPS), and Stacy Njideka, also known as Nkiruka, 27, who is a business associate of Ayeni.”
In another development, Babafemi said the operatives seized a Toyota vehicle carrying two passengers with 118 cartons of noodles where 544 blocks of compressed cannabis were concealed in Adamawa.
The drugs weighing 408kg were to be distributed in Yola, Mubi, and Gombe states.
He said 89 jumbo bags of skunk were seized from one Segun Odeyemi in Lagos, while an abandoned Peugeot vehicle was recovered with bags of fresh pepper used to conceal 25 bags of cannabis on the Akure-Ilesa expressway.
“In the same vein, operatives in Ogun state on Thursday 6th July raided a skucchies factory at Ajaka Sagamu where a suspect, Adekunle Adekola was arrested. Exhibits recovered from the premises include 10kg cannabis; 1,356 litres of sketches, 20 litres of codeine, seven deep freezers; a set of fireman generators, and two gas cylinders among others,” he said.
The spokesperson added that Buba Marwa, NDLEA chairman, commended the officers and urged them to continue to track the fentanyl opioid cartels in Nigeria.
